Page 147 - The Fourth Industrial Revolution

Shift 19: 3D Printing and Manufacturing

The tipping point: The first 3D-printed car in production
By 2025: 84% of respondents expected this tipping point to have occurred
3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is the process of creating a physical object by printing it layer
upon layer from a digital 3D drawing or model. Imagine creating a loaf of bread, slice by slice. 3D
printing has the potential to create very complex products without complex equipment. 94 Eventually,
many different kinds of materials will be used in the 3D printer, such as plastic, aluminium, stainless
steel, ceramic or even advanced alloys, and the printer will be able to do what a whole factory was
once required to accomplish. It is already being used in a range of applications, from making wind
turbines to toys.
Over time, 3D printers will overcome the obstacles of speed, cost and size, and become more
pervasive. Gartner has developed a “Hype Cycle” chart (Figure VI) showing the various stages of
different 3D printing capabilities and their market impact, and plotting most business uses of the
technology as entering the “slope of enlightenment”. 95

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